Oriental Interest buys 222 acres of land worth RM129 mil

KUALA LUMPUR (May 24): Oriental Interest Bhd is buying 222.29 acres of land, spread across Ijok, Selangor and up north in Kedah and Penang, for RM129.2 million from four companies related to its directors.

The group said in a Bursa Malaysia filing yesterday that the acquisition is in line with its strategy to continuously replenish and expand its existing landbank in strategic locations. At present, the group's landbank stood at about 192.62 acres.

It is buying the land via its wholly-owned unit OIB Properties (K) Sdn Bhd, which inked four separate agreements to effect the land buys today.

The first agreement was inked with Advance Return Sdn Bhd to buy 35.57 acres of land in Ijok, Kuala Selangor, for RM28 million. The second deal is with Seloka Setia Sdn Bhd to buy 33.08 acres in Bandar Amanjaya, Kedah for RM40.14 million. 

The third agreement was with Impian Seloka Sdn Bhd to buy 148.61 acres in Sungai Petani for RM34.81 million, while the fourth agreement is with ETOS Wangsa Sdn Bhd to buy 5.03 acres in Mukim 12, Barat Daya, Penang, for RM26.28 million.

All four transactions are deemed as related party transactions as the directors of OIB — namely Low Kok Shen, Low Kok Aun, Low Kok Kean, Low Ping Kun and Low Kok Horng — are also directors of the vendors.

Oriental Interest said the proposed buys would also enable it to scale up its property development activities in locations with strong growth potential.

“The increasing economic activities in the surrounding areas are expected to provide a good base of potential buyers for future development of the lands,” read the group’s announcement.

The acquisitions are to be funded via a combination of bank borrowings, internally-generated funds and redeemable preference shares.

Oriental Interest shares fell 7 sen (2.8%) to RM2.43 today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM352 million. — theedgemarkets.com

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